8.

 

Chase and outrace in Hot Pursuit

Criterion has another hit on their hands

By Cody Klyne, Arts Editor

laying cops and robbers on the
Prsreonn back in the days of

handi-snacks and juice boxes
was the pinnacle of lunchtime fun. As
a “robber” outrunning, tricking, and
dodging the opposition was key to
your longevity as a noon-hour bandit.
As a “cop”, teamwork, patience and
knowing when to strike were the
staple qualities of your breed. Relive
the old days without all the dust,
dirt, and loathsome running from the
comfort of your own couch in Need
for Speed Hot Pursuit on the Xbox
360, PS3, and PC.

EA’s Need for Speed franchise
has, over the last few years, tried
everything to remain relevant in a
world populated by quality racers
the likes of Forza, Gran Turismo,
Dirt, and Burnout. From the release
of their own take on the racing-sim
genre earlier this year, Need for
Speed Shift, to their free-to-play PC
exclusive, Need for Speed World,
there’s been a real “try it and see if
it sticks” approach adopted by the
publisher that’s resulted in as much
good as it has bad. Thankfully this
time around, with the creators of the
much loved Burnout series, Criterion
Games, at the helm of this most
recent entry, EA has an unleashed
an exhilarating and satisfying cops
and robbers—in this case, cops and
racers—experience in this year’s Hot
Pursuit reboot.

For the single player side
of things, Hot Pursuit offers an
interesting set of events—including
time trials, one-on-one races, and
larger hot pursuit modes, to name
a few—which are playable from
both the role of the street racers and
the law enforcing cops of Seacrest
County’s highway patrol unit.
Allowing players to unlock cars, new
ranks, as well as tools to aid them
both online and offline, the single
player campaign, while fully-featured
in its own right, acts as a nice
buffer for players interested that are
inevitably interested in diving into
the multiplayer side of things (where
the game really gets its legs from).

Featuring a unique social
system dubbed “Autolog”, what is
essentially an interface that allows

8

players to track high scores amongst
friends and more, Hot Pursuit’s
online component packs enough in to
keep competitive and completionist
gamers going for hours to come.
Featuring many of the same events
available in the single player
campaign, smashing and crashing
into your friends (as well as complete
strangers) until they’re a wrecked
heap of steel and crushed dreams
is, not surprisingly, more satisfying
than doing the same to the game’s
AI. Giving both sides the same set
of tools available in the single player
to aid them, from deployable spike
strips, to EMP rockets, and road
blocks, the back roads of Seacrest
County play host to some of the best
back-and-forth online battles for
supremacy between law and outlaw
available this console generation.

Without being “that guy” and
analyzing the graphics polygon by .
polygon, I'll just say that the game
is freaking gorgeous. As for the
core game play, the initial handling
of the cars might take some getting
used to (be prepared to drift); after
a few events though, the weight and
control feel natural and purposeful.
Topping it off, the aforementioned
offensive and defensive powerups or
tools, while potentially off-putting
to serious racers, add an element of
levity to every race. Watching cars
flip and crash in true Criterion style is
just plain fun.

While Need for Speed’s track
record has been far from spotless
in recent years, Criterion’s Hot
Pursuit sees a return to form for the
franchise. So if you’re in the mood
for some arcade racing this holiday
season, especially if you’ve got a few
friends willing to take to the streets
with you, this is one run in with
Johnny law that’s worth the risk.
4.5/5

 

   

 

This aint’ like Uncle Walt’s fairytale...

By Julia Siedlanowska

“But he’s an ogre!” The protests from
little Heidi (played by Gili Roskies)
already set us up for a world split
between fairytale and reality. This is
the world of The Secret in the Wings,
by Mary Zimmerman, produced by
Studio 58. Despite Heidi’s fears, she
is left alone with “The Ogre,” known
to her parents as Mr. Fitzpatrick,

the next door neighbour. Regardless
of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s eight foot long
tail, they insist “He is not an ogre,”
and go off to dinner. We are left

with memories of our own parents
abandoning us for “grownup” events,
leaving us at the mercy of some
stranger—the babysitter—for a long
and terrifying night.

Heidi is left with Mr. Fitzpatrick
(James Elston) trying to woo her to
his side saying “Marry me Heidi” —
can we believe our ears? Is this shady,
unshaven man trying to gain the hand
of the child he is babysitting? But
this fairytale had much more in store
for us; incest, cannibalism, bloody
murder, betrayal, self mutilation...
From every corner of the set came a
different terror. From the closet came
the story of the princess who refused
to marry any man but the one who
would consent to being buried alive
with her if she were to die before him.
From behind the shelf came another
story, from behind the wall, another.
There were many secrets in the wings
of this seemingly simple set.

Intellectually, I didn’t feel that I
went away with much. I searched for
some psychological depth, some sort
of catharsis or insight, but I decided

the beauty of these stories would
have to lie in they’re simplicity. The
staging was clever, with some of
Mary Zimmerman’s original images:
red balls symbolizing chopped off
heads, a horizontally held picture
frame rising over an actress to
symbolize her drowning (right before
our eyes), and a forest of actors
holding twigs. Some of the staging
choices were a little awkward —at the
party for The Princess Who Wouldn’t
Laugh we had a compilation of
contemporary scores including ABBA
and Lady Gaga, sung by the guests
of the party. The lack of response
from the audience to this should-be
comedic moment also made for some
discomfort. Even with the lack of a
certain intellectual poignancy from
these folk tales, the stories were clear,
and came to life.

At the end of the night, all the
stories had their “happy” endings
(though they are rarely without
casualties). And just like the end of
the night with a babysitter, we find
that our fear has turned to joy, and
Heidi embraces the once terrifying
Ogre, kissing him on the forehead. In
this childlike embrace, we remember
the end of a night with a babysitter,
forgetting, through the newfound
companionship, that we ever feared a
thing.

Production Info:

The Secret In the Wings
By: Mary Zimmerman
Directed by: Mike Stack
Studio 58

Nov 18- Dec 5

Tickets 10$- 22$